With Apex Legends growing at a rate that could mean it surpasses Fortnite in popularity, it's safe to say that the free-to-play battle royale shooter is consistently drawing in new players. However, even battle royale veterans may not know how everything in Apex Legends works at first, as the game does do some things quite differently than similar titles.

While some of these tips may be obvious to players who've already sunk plenty of hours into Apex Legends, they should help newcomers up their game.

1. Change the Fire Rate

Something that may not be immediately clear to Apex Legends players is that they can change the fire rate on a number of weapons in the game. Most of the machineguns can swap between Auto, Burst, and Single fire rates, which are all helpful in different situations. When shooting enemies from afar, it may be best to switch to the Single to conserve ammo, but when engaging in close-quarters combat Auto and Burst modes will be preferable. To switch between different fire rates, press left on the d-pad (B on PC) when the applicable weapons are equipped.

2. Utilize Slide

Apex Legends may ditch Titanfall's wallrunning and Titans, but the game does feature one unique element from the franchise it spun off from in the form of sliding. Sliding in Apex Legends is extremely useful, as players can build up significant speed when going down hill to potentially escape enemies or outrun the storm. Sliding can also be used to quickly get the jump on an enemy, and when used in tandem with shotguns, it can be absolutely deadly. To perform a slide in Apex Legends, start sprinting by pushing in the left analog stick (Left Shift), and then press C (PC), Circle (PS4) or B (Xbox One) to initiate the slide. We recommend players experiment with the slide as much as possible so that they can more naturally use it in combat scenarios.

3. Break Doors

Unlike Fortnite, Apex Legends doesn't really have much in the way of destructible environments, so some players may not even realize that they can actually break the doors in the game. Breaking doors can destroy important cover for hiding enemies, and can also be used to counter the Caustic "Hot Box Trap" tactic that we've seen used in the past. To break a door, simply shoot it, blow it up, or hit it with two melee attacks.

4. Holster Weapons to Run Faster

While each battle royale game has something to help it stand apart from its competition, they almost all feature a storm that closes in on the combatants to force them together as the match progresses. Apex Legends is no different, and players may find themselves having to run away from the storm and to the safety of the circle. Apex Legends has decent mobility for players to utilize to get away from the storm, but sometimes they will need a little extra speed, and they can get that by holstering their weapon. Apex Legends players can holster their weapon by holding in the Triangle button (PS4) or Y button (Xbox One) or pressing 3 on PC.

5. High Tier Loot Areas

After Apex Legends players land on the King's Canyon battle royale map, the first thing they will want to do is arm themselves. The best weapons and armor can typically be found in the High Tier Loot areas, which are marked on the map above. Besides those specific areas, the game will also highlight parts of the map called Hot Zones that will be a High Tier Loot area for that round, making it another good place to drop. The only downside to looting these places is that they are usually high traffic areas, so Apex Legends players will want to land with their team and be on guard.

Somewhere else players may want to land for some decent loot is the supply ship that flies around the map. It's usually visible at the start, and almost always contains purple armor and some decent weapons. It's also a relatively high traffic area most of the time, but players can quickly jump off it after grabbing whatever they need to avoid dying right away.

6. Communication is Key

Something that Apex Legends has been praised for is its ping system, which allows players to effectively communicate with one another even if they aren't talking over a headset. The right bumper can be used to mark just about everything in the game, from armor to enemies to points of interest. Even when players are audibly communicating with their teammates, using the ping system is oftentimes better than just calling out enemy locations.

Players can also communicate their needs to teammates by highlighting things in their inventory. For example, if players are needing shotgun shells, they can hover the cursor over the shotgun in their inventory and they should be given the option to ask for some shells.

7. Replay the Tutorial

When players first boot up Apex Legends, they will be walked through a tutorial that will show them the ropes. Some may not realize that it's actually possible to replay the tutorial to brush up on things and test out different weapons. To replay the tutorial, click on the "PLAY APEX" icon on the main screen and select "Training" instead.

8. Avoid Using Finishers

When Apex Legends players approach downed enemies, they are given the option of using a Finisher on them to kill them with a stylish execution. Finishers are flashy, but they leave players wide open to enemy fire. For this reason, we recommend Apex Legends players avoid using Finishers, unless they have some teammates watching their back or if they have a legendary body armor and need to gain full shields.

9. Give Lifeline Ultimate Accelerators

Ultimate Accelerators are consumable items that, as their name suggests, help players get their Ultimate ability faster. If players have Lifeline on their team, then they should always prioritize giving her the Ultimate Accelerators as her Ultimate is the most beneficial to the team as a whole. For the uninitiated, Lifeline's Ultimate calls in a supply drop that often has decent loot on it, so it's definitely worth making sure she has her Ultimate as many times as possible in any given match.

10. Pay Attention to Hit Markers

Hit markers are important in any shooter, but even more than usual in Apex Legends. Hit markers provide plenty of information to the player, including what kind of armor their opponent has. Players can also use hit markers to tell if their Ultimate ability hit anyone or if a grenade they lobbed caused any damage, which could be a good indication that it's time to rush the enemy.

11. Don't Quit Just Because You're Dead

Oftentimes in Apex Legends, players will quit as soon as they're killed, but they really shouldn't do that. Unlike other battle royale games where death means players are out of action until the end of the match, Apex Legends gives players the chance to come back to life if their teammates retrieve their banner and deliver it to one of the many respawn stations dotted around the King's Canyon map.

12. There's No Fall Damage

Apex Legends doesn't really have any kind of fall damage to speak of, which is important to keep in mind when traversing the environment. This means players are free to jump off high areas when running away from enemies without having to worry about taking damage and having to waste healing items.

13. Don't Stress About the Inventory

In other battle royale games, players will find themselves spending a lot of time sifting through their inventory, but that's not really necessary in Apex Legends. The game will automatically equip the best gear when players find it, and this even goes for weapon attachments. So if players pick up a new gun that is compatible with the attachments they already have equipped on their other gun, the game will automatically switch them out. Really the only time Apex Legends players should be worrying about their inventory is when they need to drop something to make room for something else.

14. Re-Deploy the Jetpack With Balloons

Since Apex Legends doesn't have fall damage, players don't have to worry about re-deploying their jetpack. However, there is a way to re-deploy the jetpack to help get across the map quicker, which is useful for a number of reasons, including getting ahead of the storm. To re-deploy the jetpack in Apex Legends, players need to use one of the balloon structures. These things have a zipline coming out of them that can be ridden to the top, which will then trigger the jetpack re-deploy.

15. Use Abilities

Since abilities are on a cooldown timer, Apex Legends players may be hesitant to use them all the time, but we recommend using abilities as much as possible. Abilities can help turn the tide in battle, and considering how fast-paced the action is in Apex Legends, holding on to abilities may just mean not having a chance to use them at all before dying.

Apex Legends is out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.